WEST ORANGE, NJ – Seton Hall Prep held an official dedication of Porcello Baseball Field, named in honor of 2007 SHP graduate Rick Porcello, a pitcher for Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox. The ceremony took place Monday, June 5.
Porcello is the reigning Cy Young Award winner. The award is given to the best pitcher in the American League.
The event marked the culmination of the Kelly Athletic Complex project, in the works since 1999.
Msgr. Michael Kelly welcomed the crowd of 300, including a group of local, county and state dignitaries. Following an opening prayer by Headmaster Msgr. Robert Harahan, Prep father Kevin Kern offered a stirring rendition of the National Anthem. Prep Coach Mike Sheppard Jr. then described for the assembly what the 2007 alumnus has meant to the school and the baseball program as a role model for athletes, students and alumni. Typical of Rick Porcello, he noted, was his insistence that the home team dugout be dedicated to his freshman coach, former Prep Head Coach Rev. Stephen Kilcarr.
Senior Prep outfielder Nico Motessi followed Coach Sheppard, remarking on the added pride that the stadium and following in Porcello’s footsteps has brought to all the players and to the program. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred pointed to Rick’s gift as a model for current players to keep in mind, and to the service projects that The Prep baseball program has offered to the community.
Porcello’s remarks centered on the lessons he learned at The Prep, both on the field and off, and how they have served him well along his road to the 2016 AL Cy Young Award. Closing the ceremony, in the company of his family, Rick walked to the dugout to unveil the plaque honoring Fr. Kilcarr and then out the center-field gate to lift the banner covering the plaque commemorating the dedication of Porcello Field.
“This is the only way I know how to give back,” Porcello told a crowd gathered at the field, which officially opened last year. “I think about how fortunate I’ve been to be a part of the Seton Hall Prep family.”
Much of that extended family was in attendance Monday to see the school officially dedicate the field to its namesake. Manfred joined a dais of school officials, community leaders, alumni, family and fans that gathered to welcome Porcello back to his alma mater.
“One thing that is often overlooked is how generous and community-minded our players really are,” Manfred said. “This project is a great example of that.”
Porcello starred as a shortstop and pitcher for Seton Hall Prep before the Tigers drafted him No. 27 overall in 2007. He spent six seasons in Detroit and is currently in his third in Boston, where he won the AL Cy Young Award in 2016. Donations from Porcello, who is signed to a four-year, $82.5 million contract, were integral in the construction of the complex, which is complete with an all-turf field and professionally-styled dugouts.
“While Rick was winning 22 games for the Red Sox and winning the Cy Young Award, at the very same time, work was going on this project,” Manfred said. “This project will serve young people here at Seton Hall for generations.”
Porcello first grabbed the attention of scouts as a sophomore at Prep, during an emergency relief appearance in a game in South Jersey. Out of all his pitchers, varsity baseball coach Michael Sheppard Jr. put his shortstop on the mound.
“He was throwing BBs,” Sheppard remembered. “A Yankee scout just happened to be in attendance. He asked me after: ‘Who the heck is that?'”
Porcello gained a reputation as one of the best two-way high school players in the country before switching to first base as a senior to protect his arm. He hit 11 home runs to go along with a 10-0 record on the mound.
Sheppard recalled the story of a playoff game a week before the Draft in which Porcello, a projected first-round pick, risked injury by diving into first base trying to beat out a grounder. Porcello had a lot to lose; he signed later that year for $11.1 million, making him the highest-paid high school player ever drafted.
“Rick, we thank you for the many contributions you made to our program as a player,” Sheppard said. “And now as an alumnus, for this generous gift.”
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